Coupling for electrical conduits.



No. 849,417. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

J. A. NETH.

COUPLING FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUITS. APPLICATION FILED 1330.16. 1905.

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JOSEPH A. NETH, OF DAYTON, OI-IIO.

COUPLING FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed December 16,1905. Serial No. 291.963.

T0 all'who'nt it may concern:

Be itknown that I, JOSEPH A. NETH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful I companying drawings, and to theletters and tion and then replaced overthe jo nt.

'tional Board of Fire Underwriters.

figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in couplings forconduits of the form used throughout the interior of buildings forrunning the wires or electrical conductors.

The object of the invention is to provide a coupling which may be placedin the most restricted and inaccessible places for connecting the endsof a conduit.

At the present time conduits known as iron-armored conduits arecompelled to be employed, owing to the demands of The Na- Owing to thesedemands, the questionof a suitable coupling has become one ofimportance, owing to the many out-of-the-way places where couplings mustbe employed. The usual elbow, .T, and running thread-coupling employedby gas-fitters are unsuitable for the employment of couplings, owing tothe necessity of the use of a wrench in making the connections. In usingthe ordinary coupling common to gas-fitters the adjacent ends of theconduit must be provided with what is known as r nningthreads in orderthat the coupling i ay be run back upon one section of the pipe in orderto make the couple}?- e cutting of these running-threads offers aserious objection for two reasons. First, it ent'ails unnecessary timeand labor to extend the threads a suitable distance away from the end ofthe pipe or conduit, and, secondly, it weakens the conduit to anundesirable extent, and consequently endangers the pipe. In other words,owing to the necessity of .extending the threads along the pipe orconduit any undue strain laced thereon is apt to break the same. This isa common occurrence and is well known to persons whose business it is toperform this class of electric construction work. With the presentcoupling these objections are entirely overcome, and the work of couplinthe ends of a conduit in the most inaccessi le places is reduced to aminimum.

Preceding a detailed description of my invention reference is made tothe accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a top plan view of myimproved coupling for conduits, showing the same coupling the ends ofsections of a conduit. Fig. 2 1s a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is asectional view through the coupling and conduit. Fig. 4 is a detail viewof one of the parts of a coupling. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1,showing a coupling adapted to the larger sizes of conduits. Fig. 6 is aFig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view illustrating the application of my improvedcoupling to a conduit having a double bend.

In a detail description of the invention similar reference charactersindicate corresponding parts.

My improved coupling consists of a screwthreaded clamp consisting of twoparts 1 and 2, which are clamped together by means of apertured ears 3and screws 4. The interior of each part of said clamp is provided withscrew-threads 5; but these screw-threads are not intended to perform thefunctions of the ordinary coupling. In other words, the screw-threads ofthe ordinary coupling are intended to engage running-threads on the pipeor conduit in order that such coupling may be run onto one section ofthe conduit and then back over the joint. The screwthreads 5 of thesplit coupling in the present case perform the single function oflocking the conduit-sections in position against any outwardlongitudinal movement. For this reason the adjacent ends of theconduit-sections are necessarily provided with threads 6, but only asuflicient extent to enable the coupling to clamp the ends of theconduit inclosed by said coupling. The drawings showthe screw-threads onthe conduit-sections extended outwardly farther than is obviouslynecessary for the application of my coupling, and yet such threads arenot extended far enough'to be applicable to the usual coupling whichemploys runninghreads on the pipe-sections for the purpose of runningsaid coupling entirely off one see- I on of the pipe. The two parts ofthe clamp i. m placed around the abutting ends of the l conduit-sectionswhen the latter are brought sectional view of the coupling as shown inadjacent ends of the conduit-sections. This is an important feature inthe placing of conduits for the stringing of electrical wires, for thereason that there are no interior shoulders or obstructions to impedethe free passage of the wires or conductors in passing them through theconduits.

In Fig. 5 my improved split coupling zlS- ill ustrated in itsapplication to conduits of the. larger type, and-in this applicationinstead of employing the apertured ears 3' on both sides a connection ismade on'one side between the two parts of the coupling} which preventsaid parts from becoming separated in handling the same and alsoobviates the necessity of employing the clamping-screws 4 on both sides.These features consist of providing the lower member :or the rearwardmember with an apertured ear 7 and the other member with an interlockingprojection 8, which penetrates the aperture in said ear 7 and engagessaid ear 'Taitlter passing through the aperture, as at 9, Fig. 6'.

' In Fig. 7 I have illustrated myisplit coupling utilized for thejoining of a cnnduit having a double bend at the coupling. 'It will bereadily understood that such a coupling may be employed to connecttheendsrof aconduit re ardless of the number of bends or the angle 0 thebends or the lace or places where the conduit is placed. placing theseconduits throughout theinterior of a building the party who places thesame often has no choice, but is compelled to run said conduits in andout of corners and nooks where it is impossible to make a proper jointwith the old style of coupling and the running-threads; Even in caseswhere it is'barely possible to use the old style .of coupling it isdifficult or impossible to make a proper coupling, owing to the limitedspace in which to turn a wrench.

I am aware that heretofore it has been the common practice to connecthose by means of two-part clamps having plain interior surfaces 01screw-threaded interior surfaces; but such clamps have been designed forthe express purpose of meeting the requirements of a hose-coupler andare not adapted to the purposes of conduit or electrical pipeconnections. In other words, it has heretofore been common to provide atwo-part clamp with inner screw-threads, the parts being hinged togetherand manipulated by an extended handle with an interlocking spring, thelength of such clamp being regulated by the flanges on the pipe -nipplesor hosefittings, also heretofore a twopart clamp With smooth interiorsurfaces and means for connecting the parts of the clamp consisting ofscrews penetrating extensions from the clamp members. These devices areunsuited for the purposes of my coupling and are not within the termsofthe claim submitted.

Having described my invention, I claim- In a coupling for connectingelectrical conduits, an elongated coupling-clamp con sisting of twoparts with interior screwthreads and adapted, when in position on, theends of the conduits or pipes, to engage a portion of the threads oneach pipe or conduit end and to permit the ends of the-pipes or conduitsto be brought in contact with each other either before or after thetwopart couplingclamp is placed in position, the said two-partcoupling-clamp having means on opposite sides thereof for rigidlymaintaining said coupling upon the ends of the pipes or conduits.

' In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

' JOSEPH A. NETH.

Witnesses:

CAROLYN M. THEOBALD, R. J. McCAR'rY.

